Thornbridge beers at the Sheffield Tap

The Sheffield Tap is arguably one of the best stocked pubs in the North of England, with a regular range of Thornbridge beers on cask (the venue is a joint venture between the Derbyshire brewers and the chaps behind Pivo in York) and an inventory of bottled beers that make most beer cabinets look like a beery footnote. It’s a case of any excuse will do to persuade me to hop on the 42 minute train from Leeds, and last night the excuse was the chance to meet the team that brew Thornbridge’s beers who were hosting a Meet the Brewer session in the former first class refreshment lounge of Sheffield’s main station.

On arrival the tiny bar was busy – not quite heaving but certainly a far cry from quiet. A bustle of artisan beer fans, jaded commuters and groups of talkative drinking buddies crowded over the small tables and lined the restored bar. Tucking our elbows in we (Rob from HopZine, Tom from Reet Good Leeds and me)  joined the fray to admire the array of beers on offer, a veritable beer geeks heaven.

Thornbridge Lord Maples

We started as we meant to go on, diving into a beer I’ve heard lots about – Thornbridge Exposed – and one I’ve not heard anything about – Thornbridge McConnells – two different takes on stout. Exposed poured with little foam and was sweet and peppery, with subtle complexities that you could easily not notice  because it’s that drinkable, but on closer inspection at sophistication and allure. McConnell’s on the other hand retained a creamy head and laced the glass with foam, was thicker and carried a blink and you’ll miss it vanilla essence. Both very well polished stouts and were eminently drinkable.

Before we’d finished our halves of the dark stuff Kelly Ryan kicked off the session. There were 20-ish people crammed in the far corner of the bar (almost all under 25) and all were delighted when the first of a number of free tasters emerged.

Kelly Ryan and the unbearded beer crowd

First up was Wild Swan, a super pale straw coloured beer, bitter beyond it’s 3.5% ABV tag. For something that light the hop aroma is remarkable, all pine needles, lemon and herbs. A great session beer, if slightly lacking in body compared to the beers that followed.

Lord Marples is Thornbridge’s best bitter and best it is. I had this at Keighley & Worth Valley beer festival last summer and it was conspicuous by it’s inconspicuousness. This time round I found it had a lot more to it (perhaps the lack of body odour and diesel fumes from the heritage train the beer festival was on helped) fuelled by waves of caramel and hints of seeds and honey (similar tastes that can be found in BrewDog’s Dogma or Oxfordshire Ales Marshmellow ale).

In the midst of the beers coming out a variety of hops and malt husks were passed around. Chinook was sharp and citrus and one whiff of it crumbled up in your fingers is enough to imagine it’s bittering potential. Nelson Sauvin came out with our tasting glasses of Kipling and its presence in this beer is dominant. Grapes and leaf sap in your fingers and zingy tropical kick in the beer.

Hops!

By 9pm Kelly had wrapped up a fact-packed session to a round of applause and an eager audience jumped straight into Raven, a ‘black IPA’ mixing hops and chocolate.  Nomenclature and taxonomy aside, I’ve a taste for well-hopped darker beers and Raven is, as is a common theme with Thornbridge’s beers, very easy to drink: roasted and bitter and pretty darn tasty!

Thornbridge Saint Petersburg

At this point I had a half of Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout still to go (we’d been sampling this between the taster beers, for no other reason than we could and it made a nice breaker between the paler ales). On top of that I knew I couldn’t leave without one beer in particular. We’d all been eyeing up different beers throughout the night but for me my nightcap had to be Saint Petersburg, Thornbridge’s 7.7% Russian style Imperial Stout. This is a beer style that I can find equally fascinating and wonderful as hideous and undrinkable and I’ve yet to put my finger on what it is that I like/dislike – one thing for sure I can’t get enough of having it to finish my beer drinking sessions at the moment.

Saint Petersburg was a pussy cat. It had the dark, soy, roasted malt-fest characteristics of imperial stout but you’d barely notice it was alcoholic in comparison to some examples and the 2 pint take home didn’t last long on the train back to Leeds.You can drink this like water and it’s good. Even the curious students who asked what the hell we were doing drinking from a tetra-pak on a train enjoyed it. “That’s quite nice actually!”said the female variety of student summing it up simplistically but honestly.

Something for the way home...a Saint Petersburg nightcap

Thornbridge Brewery put this event on as open invite and for free, to thank you to Kelly and the team for a great way to spend a Tuesday evening. Educational, fun, beer and trains, lovely stuff. Dom from Marble Brewery popped in on his way home too, a fan of Saint Petersburg and evidence that it can improve productivity amongst other things. Nuff said!

The Hop, live music and real ale pub opening in Leeds this March

Wakefield’s finest are coming to Leeds in the guise of The Hop, the live music and real ale venue of Ossett Brewery’s pub armada. Situated in the Granary Wharf area of Leeds overlooking the reinvigorated quayside, The Hop will sit under two of the previously disused railway arches that are tucked away between the confluence of the Leeds-Liverpool canal and the River Aire.

I’ve been watching the empty unit over the last few weeks and months, gradually turning from a blank canvas to a vaguely pub-like skeleton as I pass by. Today’s walk to the bank was considerably brightened by the sight of a new sticker in the window, shouting loudly ‘Opening on Friday 26th March!’

The Hop will take the tally of great pubs within a five minute walk of where I work to new heights, with the ‘thes’ of Grove, Commercial, Adelphi, Cross Keys and Midnight Bell fame all located a short stumble from each other.

Photos by me and my good friend Rick

Bridgewater Place towers over Granary Wharf form across the Leeds-Liverpool canal and is one of the views from The Hop. Pic (c) Mark Fletcher 2010

The 3 new buildings and canal basin at Granary Wharf near Leeds train station. Left to right: Candle House (apartments), City Inn (hotel) and Watermans Place (apartments). Pic (c) Rick Harrison 2010

The striking angular form of Waterman's Place at Granary Wharf, just a moment's walk from the site of The Hop. Pic (c) Rick Harrison 2010

Ok to be fair it’s this months ‘What’s Brewing’, but I love the story on page 10 about Martin Brunnschweiler.

More than a decade ago Martin went to visit his sister at her pub on the Isle of Man and ended up staying there to set up a brewery called Bushy’s. The paper is a bit hazy on the details (I’m intrigued as to whether he drank the pub dry and then set up because he was thirsty and what he left behind) but I like to think the Martin fell in love with the island, the pub, the atmosphere and the opportunity. His brewery has ties to the nuclear industry (and sounds like it could double up as a bunker should a Dr Strangelove armageddon arise) and the equipment is based on a headache inducing tower arrangement that requires a certain amount of agility from head brewer Curly (yes, Curly!).

The best I can do is that I have on two or more separate occasions walked into a pub and ended up 1) working behind the bar and 2) doing the dishes, but never quite made the leap to brewing.

Accidental brewer: Martin of Bushy's brewery on the Isle of Man

Walking around the compact, but seemingly organised Leeds Brewery with co-founder Sam Moss, it’s easy to forget that the business has only been in existence for a touch over two years.

Situated on a light industrial estate not far from Leeds’ bustling centre, the brewery is the hub of an expanding local empire that now stretches to three pubs across the town centre as well as the modern and compact Leeds Brewery HQ. The team produces three permanent beers and twelve seasonal beers; one for each calendar month. The beers are on sale across the country and also in Leeds brewery’s three self-owned pubs in Leeds city centre.

The Leeds Brewery team

Being Leeds residents and big fans of the beers that the brewery makes, we jumped at the chance to take a day off work and visit our very own local brewers. Upon arrival the other half of the management, Michael Brothwell, was busy making an emergency keg delivery in the back of his Ford Fiesta, so it was down to Sam to take us round the modern set up…

Sam takes us through the mash tuns, coppers, fermentation tanks right to the conditioning tanks where the final brews are materialising, and we chat about beer and business the whole way round. Our first question was simple, where do you start when setting up a brewery?

Leeds Brewery Mash Tuns and Coppers

“We thought it would be a good idea to develop some beers,” says Sam. “We had decided that we would like a pale, medium and dark beer, as well as a weaker, medium and strong alcohol strength beer”.

The results were Leeds Pale, Leeds Best and Midnight Bell, three very drinkable pints that are perhaps less experimental than some of those produced by other fledgling breweries, and deliberately so.

“We had set out to sell beers. This meant that they had to be very drinkable. As well as this, we have worked hard to make the brewery as commercially viable as possible; creating a strong and trusted brand, immediately recognisable and trusted on the pumps at the bar in order to keep people coming back.

Whilst we wander around the building talking – the smell of mash and brew filling the air - it is clear that the brewery house is full of action today. The head brewer Venkatesh Iyer is laying out the casts ready to fill with a freshly fermented batch of Leeds Pale. “Venkatesh is probably the youngest head brewer in the country,” points out Sam with a hint of pride. “He’s great, certainly the youngest head brewer of an operation of this size”.

Leeds Brewery Mash Tuns

Our journey takes us from the stainless steel mash tuns and coppers, through to the polished and gleaming conditioning tanks Some of the vessels are imported from Germany because of course our European friends are the kings of precision engineering – quality vessels are required at this stage to ensure smooth surfaces and thus reduce the risk of yeast infection, which at this point in the process would be pretty devastating.

“We retain the yeast from each brew which means that it is ultimately unique to us. The life span of yeast used in this way is a fairly lengthy cycle, so it can be reused for a good period of time.

Leeds Brewery fermenting tanks

Whilst admiring the shiny vats Venkatesh begins filling the casks with fresh Leeds Pale, hurriedly switching the pipe from cask to cask. Ah yes, the beer.

Sam explains that Leeds Best is an all-British beer; the malt is sourced in Britain, the hops are sourced in Britain and of course the water is British. The team agrees that brewing an all-British product was important. But Midnight Bell and Leeds Pale spread the net slightly farther afield, with Pale using hops sourced from Slovenia.

Unique to all the Leeds beers is the yeast which they use. With each brew, the yeast – unique to the brewery – is retained. The process is one of top fermentation, technically, and the yeast can be captured from the top of each brew once fermentation is complete. The life span of yeast used in this way is a fairly lengthy cycle, so it can be reused for a good period of time.

One of the interesting aspects of the business model is the progression of the self-owned chain of pubs that are appearing across Leeds. The Brewery Tap , PIN, and The Midnight Bell are three modern pubs which stock the permanent cask ales, as well as a range of continental beers (bottled and tap) and guest casks from around the country. Each watering hole has it’s own personality and the system harks back to an age when Leeds acquired its grand Victorian pubs, in the days before Tetley’s moved in and took over the cities brewing and selling trade.

To put the brewing landscape of Leeds in perspective. Sam makes an interesting point that despite the huge Tetley brewery (now owned by the Carlsberg Group and scheduled for closure in 2011), there are very few, if any, competitive breweries in Leeds – one of the largest cities in the North of England.

When we first started looking at Leeds as a potential place to set up, we couldn’t believe that despite being known as ‘The Leeds Brewery’, no one at Tetley’s had thought to copyright that name. We thought we would step in and take the chance to create a good brand that takes pride in being associated with the city.”

Leeds Brewery is well on its way to becoming one of stars of the booming micro brewery scene. And soon enough they may be the only brewery left in the centre of Leeds, with the impending closure of the Tetley’s plant barely a mile away. Leeds Brewery’s physical size is dwarfed by the colossus of the beer giant, but there’s time for LB yet. The light industrial estate location might not scream authentic micro brewery, but Leeds modern brewing set up and quality ales more than make up for that.

The speed at which Leeds Brewery has established itself and its beers in Leeds and across Yorkshire is a sure sign of Sam and Michael’s determination to make their venture work. By creating a strong base of pubs and brewery, coupled with an understanding of how to create a modern brand in a rapidly-changing landscape, it is exciting to consider how far such a young brewery might go.

“One of the questions we had been ready to pose was one that was born from conflicting rumours we had heard circulating the local area, about the future of Midnight Bell – LB’s dark mild offering – as a bottled product.
Sam sadly confirmed that Midnight Bell wouldn’t be available in bottles any longer, but the good news is that it will be replaced by the more marketable on-trade bottles of Leodis (their premium lager) and Hell Fire (a fruity beer) the latter two both available in the 330ml sizes.”

The Rosebud is Sam’s local pub, located on a quiet road of houses that overlook pleasant fields. It’s one of last pubs in the area that still regularly brings in guest ales and is a nice little spot for watching Leeds United with a real ale in hand.

Anyhow I met Sam and the chaps and the four us got to trying the guest ales, which were Ginger Pig by Springhead (who’s web site SEO isn’t great!), Sharp’s Cornish Coaster and Copper Dragon’s Golden Pippin.

Copper Dragon's Golden Pippin - pride of the Rosebud pub this Thursday

Firstly I ordered a half (yes, it’s a school night!) of Ginger Pig which had caused an amicable rift amongst the table; Sam believing it to be a little heavy whereas the rest believing it nice and refreshing. The elusive Springhead Brewery have created a straw coloured beer that is light and, if I’m honest a little bland and watery.

Perhaps it’s just very subtle, but this beer is named after it’s core differentiating ingredient, ginger. This is no Blandford Fly by any account, but whilst it sips easy and is refreshing and enjoyable, it’s not much more than pleasant and would benefit from a little extra complexity and depth. Not that it’s bad, I can se it been ,much better on a hot day as a refreshing light ale, but just not as entertaining as I was expecting on a dark and rainy night.

Second up came Cornish Coaster, one of Sharp’s ‘Other Beers’ (again with the poor SEO – titles of their web pages could with some improvement!).  Now this beer is interesting! In my notebook I simply wrote ‘you can taste the country air’ (which would have been the first line of my review had I taken a picture of it).

This was a much darker beer than Ginger Pig, deep browny-orangey-amber, with fruit wallowing in each sip and a tang in throughout that reminded me of the aroma of proper traditional country cider. Overall strongly fruity with a measured malt finish: not quite as bitter as I’d favour but enjoyable and drinkable (and more memorable than doom Bar I thought…?!)

But, then it was on to the Golden Pippin, and one of those moments when you take a sip and go ‘now that’s a good beer’. With absolutely no Yorkshire bias, I can say that Copper Dragon definitely made a winning move by adding Cascade Hops to this beer. Because the American influence is just what edges it to a level above the previous two beers. It stood out because of it’s richness and being that little bit more complex (which might be a little ‘unfair on Cornish Coaster which I actually felt had more longevity in terms of being a session beer).

‘Pippin is citrusy/floral throughout, as well as being beautifully but not too dominantly bitter. It almost has a gentle fizz to it when first poured (it doesn’t actually) but it leaves a little tingle that livens it up in your mouth.

All in all, not a bad selection of guest ales at all, but I drank in the order that I’d count them down in too.

I shall be back to the Rosebud in the not too distant future with the camera, to do the other two beers justice and also sample some Samba from Leeds Brewery which wasn’t on, but I’ve missed at the Midnight Bell in rather of the eponymous flagship dark mild instead.

And as for the quiz? 3 half pints (and a few more full pints for the other lads!) resulted in us achieving a modest, but not last-placed 12 out of 25 on music (and we were the only team that deduced that Marvin Gaye must have been born in the 30′s, even if we didn’t get the questions on Wings right.

And as someone who isn’t a fan of Paul McCartney’s efforts post-Beatles, I’m pretty happy with that.

His claims are based around the idea that anyone that wants to get inebriated will turn to stronger beers (such as his brewery’s 6-unit, 18% ale) and appreciate the flavour so much that they will not need to turn to “mass market, industry brewed lagers that are so bland and tasteless that you are seduced into drinking a lot of them”.

Of course, this is patently untrue – and it is more than likely that Mr. Watt knows this.

BrewDog, in its brief two-year existence is quickly becoming the rock n roll star of the micro-brewery world. As reports this week have reminded us, the company has previously flirted with controversy over a name given to one of its products that refers directly to drug-use (apparently; I wouldn’t have known said term if the BBC hadn’t informed me!)

But all publicity is good publicity and this is clearly the case here. BrewDog are now probably the most discussed brewery in the country and that can’t be a bad thing for them. I personally, love their manifesto. The aim is to target the younger market and turn them on to quality Real Ale and away from the cheap, common lagers popular amongst this demographic. In terms of Real Ale popularity, it is great achievement that such a young company, run by two clearly enterprising individuals, is taking the corporate alcohol producers head-on.

What they have also done with these statements is to highlight an issue that has plagued Britain for years; we don’t know how to appreciate alcohol consumption, certainly beyond the high-culture of fine wines.

We have never had the ‘café culture’ found abroad, where alcohol is consumed in a more respectable manner, and it is this side of the BrewDog argument that is strong. Growing up in the UK, drinking beer, wine, spirits and so on, is often more focused on quantity as opposed to quality. Although specialist bars and ale houses are growing in popularity, much of the city centre remains dominated by low-standard, low-priced alcohol which has ultimately become the norm.

Therefore, if companies like BrewDog are brewing special ales, such as Tokyo* – a run of three thousand units, of which only one thousand will be sold in the UK exclusively on the firm’s website – is this really such an issue?

All this debate has done is to highlight the country’s insecurities about its own drinking culture. BrewDog won’t change that, but at least it is putting the control back in the hands of consumers to try new and innovative ales, no matter how strong they may be.